Hearing Today on Mt Rushmore Free Speech Case

WASHINGTON — A hearing will be held today on behalf of a Minnesota man prohibited from sharing his faith at Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed a lawsuit in federal court after the man was told he could not pass out religious literature near the entrance of the monument without a permit.

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit last November on behalf of a Minnesota man denied his constitutional right to free speech at Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota.

“Christians shouldn’t be told to put expressing their beliefs on hold until they get a permit. It is unbelievable that the National Park Service would deny freedom of speech at the foot of Mt. Rushmore, where four men who represent America’s freedoms are immortalized,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker. “The Park Service ignored our client’s multiple requests to peacefully distribute literature there, relenting only when we filed this lawsuit.”

“Christians should never be treated as second-class citizens, regardless of the venue, but the Park Service was doing just that when they denied our client’s continued requests to peacefully distribute literature there,” said Hacker.

On Aug. 9, 2007 Michael Boardley and a few other individuals passed out gospel tracts near the front entrance of Mt. Rushmore without incident or comment from park officials. The next day, a park ranger approached them and informed them they must have a speech permit. Without the permit, they could not distribute the gospel tracts.

After Boardley returned home, he repeatedly called the phone number provided by the Park Service and requested a permit. The permit never arrived, and park officials stonewalled Boardley in his subsequent efforts to obtain one.

“The Park Service should know that its denial of Mr. Boardley’s request for a permit was clearly unconstitutional,” said Hacker. “It’s our hope that this lawsuit will restore free speech and religious freedom not just for Mr. Boardley, but others at the national monument as well.”

A copy of the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Boardley v. United States Department of the Interior can be read here. ADF attorneys filed an application for preliminary injunction as well.

ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.